ah the holidays!

Tis' the season of last minute rude shoppers, drunken weird uncles, and gaining 10lbs. in one sitting! How I love the holidays! It really is my favorite time of the year. I love the colors, the smells, the music, the cheer! It seems that this year is here even earlier! Snow in October! This year however, Christmas will be spent with The Motherload, at HER house. This means less cheery less merry drinking hours for me. If there is something I LOVE is to slave all day in the kitchen and set up a beautiful table, bring out the good china, turn on the candles and the holiday music and after all of that sit at my beautiful table with my beautiful family and eat amazingly delicious food while copiously drinking large quantities of vino. See, I'm not a drinker, I enjoy the occasional (very seldom) glass of wine, but christmas eve, I love to get nice and toasty (ed.) It helps me cope with the day, The Motherload, the strange church member that The Stepfather will for sure invite last minute and give absolutely no warning about, and it helps me cope with the absence of my dad, who at that moment will be 6000 miles away. Since christmas always happens at my house and I don't have to drive anywhere after or before dinner, I can do as much coping (i.e. drinking) as I desire! This year however, The Motherload demanded a change in tradition, she would like us all to go to her house (apartment- with no actual dinning room and a rather small -bar style- kitchen table) for Christmas. I tried to bargain holidays with her and get her to take Thanksgiving away but she was having none of it. So this year I have to drive to her house, and sit to eat my dinner on the couch! Normally I'm down with couch eating any day of the week, but christmas is special to me. The drinking will be done by The Hubbs, who also will need to cope. He will be coping with The Motherload, who greatly intimidates him-really she has that effect on almost everyone she encounters.

Christmas and Thanksgiving are the only two days a year were we all sit together with family and friends, at the same beautiful table and eat like normal civilized people. It means something to me to be able to see everyone together laughing and eating and talking and having a great time! SO here is to surviving this holiday, between all the unsolved sis/hubbs drama, this will be a strange and rather interesting holiday... 

"Those who complain are never pitied"

These are true words indeed! So complain I shall. It has been a trying few weeks, what with family drama, long work hours and more family drama, it has been truly endless. If I have taken anything away from this horrible last two weeks is that you never really truly know anyone, not really; not even your own family. That friendships can end over idiocy and money and that hearts can be broken over the same reasons. I have learned that people will go to all ends to ruin someone's life just because they are tired and disappointed with theirs, or because they blame the world for their failures and are incapable of assuming even the most minuscule amount of responsibility. Or that it is easier to believe rumors and idle gossip told by (an almost) complete stranger than believe a person you've known for years. Indeed it has been a trying few weeks and the end of this soap opera does not seem to be nearing... I can honestly say that I cannot wait to see until the final credits roll up for one last time....